King Alexander was born in 1893 to Greece’s King Constantine I and Queen Sophia.
After his father had been pushed to abdicate, Alexander became king. With World War I nearing its end, the Allied forces demanded that Constantine step down, or his family would lose the right to the throne.
The Allied forces didn’t stop there; they also blocked Crown Prince George, the eldest son, from taking the throne because they believed he was too pro-German, and they chose the second son, Alexander, instead.
Greece’s prime minister, Eleuthérios Venizélos, who sided with the Allies, organized an armed insurrection to force the process.
In his address to the Greek people, King Alexander stated he was prepared to continue the way his father started, of non-participation in the war.
The allies didn’t like that. So, in the Official Government Gazette, King Alexander clarified, saying, “I will sincerely cooperate with good intentions [with the allies] and achieve reconciliation with the nation.”
Alexander’s first meeting with Venizelos didn’t go too well. The King stated: “It came cold. As I didn’t shake his hand during the swearing-in, it seemed as if he didn’t expect it even today. We greeted each other with our heads. When I told him that I was ready to listen to him, he began to speak maliciously. “You will do this, you will do the other or you will not do that.” I tried to discuss some of his views, but he interrupted me, “I will arrange everything. Your Majesty, you are irresponsible” and continued that “he taught me a lesson on English parliamentarianism and the constitutional monarchy. He treated me like a student. Behind the glasses, his eyes looked hostile: What should I do? He has the power. I have nothing.”
King Alexander’s life was cut short just three years later. He was walking near the castle outside of Athens. A Barbary macaque that belonged to a resident of the palace attacked his dog. As the king stepped in to separate the animals, the monkey bit him several times, and in a matter of days the wounds became severely infected and developed into sepsis.
Three weeks later, the king was announced dead. He was 27 years old.
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